How to Master Preflop 3-Betting

There was a time in poker when a 3-bet before the flop meant exactly one of two hands – either AA or KK. People were scared to death of running into a bigger hand, so they waited for the absolute nuts before building a pot. Sharp aggressive players like Phil Ivey and Stu Ungar used these tendencies to their advantage by re-raising a wide range preflop whenever they sensed weakness.

Over time more and more people started to figure out how profitable it can be to 3-bet light, and the games got more and more aggressive. These days 3-betting light before the flop is an absolutely standard play and at higher stakes there is hardly a round played without somebody 3- or 4-betting.

3-Betting As a Bluff

3-betting a hand you would otherwise fold is a great way to create a new source of profit and increase your winrate. If you fold a hand your EV is 0, so when you raise that hand in a profitable spot you’ve created value.

This works out well because it’s very hard to defend against a good 3-bet bluffing strategy, especially out of position. At lower stakes the number of players able to 4-bet light well is still very small so if you pick the right spots you can make a lot of money 3-betting light before the flop.

Opponents who fold to 3-bets a lot (>80%)

Whenever you spot an opponent who will fold to 3-bets more than 80% of the time you can pretty much raise any two and expect to show a profit.

If you raise 3x of your opponent’s open you only have to succeed more than 66% of the time to show an immediate profit.

Say an opponent opens to $3 in a $0.5/1 game. There’s $4.50 in the pot and you risk 9$ to win. Taking into account the times you get called but make a better hand post-flop, this becomes a very profitable situation against this type of player.

I’m not saying you should 3-bet every single time a player like this opens the pot. Your opponents will catch on and you will get played back at for sure. But every once in a while when you spot the right situation, attacking tight players is a great way to create value where you would otherwise fold your hand.

One thing to watch out for is when you get called or 4-bet in these spots. Your opponent will have a very strong range and you should pretty much just give up unless you flop a big hand. Also watch out for the players behind you before 3-betting a bunch or garbage. If there’s a good chance an aggressive player on your left will come over the top then you have to pass on these opportunities and wait for a better hand.

You should also be careful if your opponent is super nitty. If a (8/6) player opens from UTG there is a good chance he has a monster.

Opponents who fold to 3-bets sometimes (60 – 80%)

When you’re facing opponents who will fold to 3-bets only sometimes and call or 4-bet the rest of the time, you definitely have to pick a stronger range to attack their open-raises.

Great hands to 3-bet are suited Ax or Kx hands that are too weak to call profitably. They have the chance to flop a flush-draw or two pair and win a huge pot from your opponents calling range (most of the time you get called you will face a strong broadway hand or a pair). A2 – A5 suited are especially great because they can flop combo draws that you can play very aggressively.

Besides their good post-flop playability, these hands hold blockers to hands that will likely call your 3-bet (most importantly AK and AQ).

Last but not least they give you the option to come over the top if you feel like your opponent is 4-betting light too much. A hand like A5s will have 30% equity against hands as strong as QQ or AK. If your opponent is really 4-betting light a lot then you can expect him to fold to a shove most of the time. Combined with your equity when called by a monster these plays are easily profitable if applied in the right spot.

Opponents who rarely fold to 3-bets (<60%)

If an opponent is folding less than 60% (especially if it’s less than 40%) you shouldn’t really 3-bet light against them at all. You will just get called too much and playing a bloated pot with a weak hand is usually not a profitable situation. Fold or call with your weaker hands and 3-bet a wider range for value as they will call you down with all sorts of junk.

3-Betting For Value

The prime reason for 3-betting is to build the pot with your strong hands so you can get the most value from your opponents’ weaker hands. It will be a lot easier to get stacks in by the river if you start with a 3-bet pot.

Opponents who fold to 3-bets a lot (>80%)

While these players are great targets for bluffs, there’s not a lot of value 3-betting hands like AQ against them. They will fold anything worse and only give you action when you’re crushed. Often it makes sense to just call with 100% of your value range against these guys, especially when they open from EP. 3-betting an EP open will look so strong to them that they will fold hands as strong as JJ or QQ to you (which is exactly why 3-betting them with trash is so profitable).

Opponents who fold to 3-bets sometimes (60 – 80%)

Against players who will sometimes fold and sometimes call when you 3-bet you should pick a solid range of JJ+ and AQ+ to raise for value. These hands have a good chance of getting called by worse and thus you wanna build the pot as soon as possible.

Opponents who rarely fold to 3-bets (<60%)

Usually you will find these numbers in fish or loose-passive calling stations. When a player is folding to 3-bets 20 or 30% this means he is calling with a very weak range. Forget about bluffing them and pick a merged value range instead. Depending on just how loose your opponent is you can 3-bet hands as weak as 88 or KJ for value. This can be great if you get called by a lower pair or a hand you dominate like QJ. It’s perfectly fine to just call with these hands as well though, especially if you’re not deep stacked. These players tend to make big calling mistakes and you can usually wait until you make a hand before you start building the pot.

To Summarize

Opponents who fold to 3-bets a lot (>80%)

Bluff any two if the spot is right (Opponent is not a complete nit and no aggressive players behind you)

Only 3-bet AA and KK for value and when opponent is opening from EP, call with them as well

Opponents who fold to 3-bets sometimes (60 – 80%)

Bluff suited Ax and Kx hands

3-bet JJ+ and AQ+ for value

Opponents who rarely fold to 3-bets (<60%)

Don’t bluff if they are very loose (<40%). You can bluff suited Ax sometimes if you think they will fold

3-bet a merged value range for value. Depending on the player this can be as low as 88+ and KJ+